The biodiesel industry could create 1,500 new Arkansas jobs.

A bill was recently introduced in Arkansas that would require 5 percent of all diesel fuel sold in the state to contain biodiesel, according to an article by MSNBC. The initiative would help cut back on pollution, as biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel, and would support feedstock like soybean oil, which is produced in Arkansas and used in biodiesel.

A study by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock found that the new initiative would create 1,500 jobs at an average salary of $37,000. The bill also would bring in $359 million each year and add $102 million to the state product, as well as add $25 million to yearly tax revenues, of which $11.4 million would be in state and local revenues.

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One city’s officials are stepping up to help underline the importance of pre employment testing.

In the City of Opelousas, La., Mayor Donald Cravins Sr. and the city’s board of aldermen have agreed to undergo the same drug screening program required for policeman and other city employees, according to an article by the Daily World.

“This is a message to our employees that this is important,” Cravins, who proposed the change, said in the article. “Far too many have failed their drug tests in the short time I have been mayor.”

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